Part of the Family
by Penelope Jadewing
Summary: Elliot Nightray's family has moved from the lovely French countryside to the crowded city of Tokyo, Japan. He's now attending the prestigious Ouran Academy, and there's one lesson he learns quite quickly - never break something in Music Room 3. That, and never judge anything by appearance. No slash. Indefinite pairings. Modern AU.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Yeah, I know I have plenty of multi-chapter fics to work on right now, but this bunny... it's so shiny... SHIIIINY, precious! *gollum***

***ahem* Anywho... Yeah, so this is a modern AU. Um, pairings... no slash, but otherwise, nothing's definite. *nod* I LOVE FEEDBACK!**

**~Penelope**

* * *

Ouran Academy was no Lutwidge.

Lutwidge was old – extremely old, at least three centuries. Its architecture spoke volumes of it's La Belle Epoque* roots and elite reputation through history. And, of course, it was French. Ouran was just… none of these things. It was newer, equally prestigious, and set in Tokyo. That and…

Elliot Nightray clenched his jaw, rubbing two tapered fingers against his temple. The buildings… were pink. Oh, why were they pink… Well, it made sense, he supposed. Old brick, bleached by years of sun and cheap paint…

He missed Lutwidge. He missed France. With a sigh, he continued across the campus, one hand steadying his violin case.

"You're in a mood today," came Leo's voice to his right.

He glanced at his valet, scowling. "What?"

The raven-haired boy adjusted his glasses and flipped a page in his book. "Just an observation. It's rare you're silent, and when you are, that generally means there's something wrong."

"Oh shut up."

Leo just shrugged, mostly preoccupied with his novel. "Missing France again, I suspect. And being overly critical of Ouran."

Elliot grumbled, and straightened the collar of his new periwinkle uniform. Gosh, this color; he hated it. His fingers brushed over the embroidered Ouran crest, and he wrinkled his nose. Disgusting. He much preferred the old-fashioned uniforms from Lutwidge – crisp white pants and tailcoat, black vest, silver buttons, bowties… It had character! Lutwidge, in fact, had so much more character than Ouran and its affiliates… At least the middle school's uniform had was remotely close, and he'd missed it by two years, being a sophomore.

"Welcome, fellow Frenchmen!"

Elliot jumped violently, while Leo simply looked up from his book and turned around to address the owner of the flamboyant voice that addressed them. The light, fluffy tone was ever worse than Professor Break back in France…

Elliot himself turned to the sight of taller boy with golden blond hair and vibrant violet eyes, standing with arms spread as if he expected Elliot to rush up and give him a giant hug and traditional French greeting. The sandy-blond made a face. "Tch." Who was this guy? The school welcoming committee?

"Welcome to the prestigious paradise for the wealthy and beautiful that is our Ouran Academy!" said the kid, looking quite dramatic and emotionally moved by the introduction to his beloved school. He approached, arms still out in welcome. "How honored we are to have you enter these hallowed halls!"

Hallowed? Yeah, right. Hollow, bland, boring were the better words. Nothing at all like Lutwidge. Elliot simply scowled on.

Leo, however, was apparently feeling social. He closed the book, keeping a finger between the pages as a bookmark, and bowed at the waist – Elliot hated that habit of his. Then again, he supposed they weren't in France anymore... "Thank you for the welcome. We're glad to be here," said the bespectacled boy in lilting Japanese.

_Speak for yourself, Leo_.

"I trust your journey was satisfactory?" The boy's wispy voice was already grating on Elliot's nerves.

Leo nodded. "It was all right. We're feeling pretty homesick, though." Elliot cast his friend a frown, willing telepathic communication if only to tell him to shut up without actually saying it.

But of course, it didn't work.

"Oh, understandable!" said the stranger with flair; he had to be at least a year older than them. Maybe two. "I, myself, know the feeling quite well! For you see, I too transferred here from French soil, and sometimes, the homesickness is too much for me to bear!" With great drama, he clutched his hands to his chest, looking pained enough for an opera. Elliot scoffed.

Wow. What a puss.

"Um… Yeah." It would seem even Leo the Levelheaded wasn't quite sure how to react to that. "Listen… Where is, uh… Hey, Elliot, hand me the campus map."

With an exasperated sigh, Elliot shuffled with the papers he'd received a few days before when they met with the superintendant and did as he was asked without grace. Leo snatched the paper from his fingers, and looked it over. He pointed to a penned circle on the map. "Could you direct us to Class 1-A?"

"Of course!" The stranger looked far too delighted to be asked. He waved a girly hand and started walking. "This way, gentlemen!"

"Hey, frills," Elliot spoke up before falling into step beside Leo, who cast him a reproving look. Elliot couldn't help it; it wasn't hard to be reminded of a frilly French aristocrat in the Ancien Régime** era.

The blond glanced back, looking a little puzzled. "Mm?"

Elliot gave him a dry look. "Who the heck are you?"

"Oh, of course!" The kid spun around, flinging his arms out. Both Elliot and Leo had to duck to avoid being smacked, but their escort seemed perfectly oblivious to it. "Excuse my manners, or lack thereof! I am Tamaki Suoh, 2nd year student, President of the Ouran Host Club, and defender of the poor!"

Heh. Yeah. Frills.

"Host Club?" Leo repeated, and Elliot elbowed him to none effect. He didn't want this airhead to keep talking!

"Oh, yes! It's a new club I began just last year! A place where beauty blossoms under the Japanese sun and young ladies can come to enjoy fine entertainment and refreshments!"

He sounded like he was doing a sales pitch.

"What might your names be, then?" Tamaki said, abruptly changing the subject.

Elliot wasn't about to answer. Leo waited, expecting him to, and then sighed when he didn't. "This is Elliot Nightray, and my name's Leo Baskerville – you might call me a valet-slash-adopted brother."

"How splendid that you each have a friend to stick by you in this troublesome time of adjustment!" Tamaki practically swooned, and Elliot felt the urge to be sick. This really was too much.

"Yeah, it is nice." Leo offered the 2nd year a smile, glasses reflecting the light. "But we'd really like to get to our homeroom now."

"Oh, I am sorry! Look at me, holding you two up when of course you would want to make a good impression on your first day! Come along, then!" Tamaki Suoh then proceeded to lead them toward Class 1-A.

~Ouran~

"New students?"

"From France?"

"How exciting for Tama-chan!"

"I have no idea why any intelligent parent with wealth and a child in Lutwidge Academy would want to move to Tokyo and transfer schools."

Everyone turned to Kyouya, who was tapping away at his laptop, speaking without looking up. Light reflecting on his rims kept anyone from seeing his steely eyes.

"What do you mean, Kyouya?" said Kaoru, lounging on the sofa while his twin did the same next to him, upside down.

"Ouran is a prestigious school!" blurted Tamaki, appalled. "Any elite student would consider it an honor to transfer!"

"Not from where he's coming from," Kyouya continued, eyes glued to the screen as he made a few clicks. "Apparently, Lutwidge rivals Ouran in academic scores and graduates students that often compete in international competitions against the world's top schools, including Ouran."

"So they're actually rivals!" blurted Hikaru, flailing until he was upright, looking enraged. "Trespassers! They're infiltrating our school!"

"They're gonna learn all out secrets!" Kaoru added.

Tamaki gasped in horror, paling to a sickly shade of blue, sweat beading on his forehead. "They'll strip our school bare and then take everything they learned back to France! How could they; I'm their friend! I feel so betrayed!"

"I don't think introducing yourself and then leading them to their classroom counts you as their friend, senpai…" Haruhi stared at all of them with bland eyes. Really, they were just being ridiculous. Did everything have to be a drama around here?

As furious Hitachiin twins consoled a weeping Tamaki, she wondered why she even asked herself.

"But… But… I'm French!" the host club president declared, as if that were the salve to his fabled burns.

"Big deal." Haruhi sipped her coffee. "So are they."

"Exac-w-wait… what?" He simpered, puppy dog eyes on overdrive.

"We're not in a teenage Mission Impossible, guys. This is a high school, and they moved. I don't think they need you spreading rumors about their involvement in the French intelligence or something."

Tamaki shot to his feet, and pointed an accusing finger at Haruhi. "How dare you accuse me of even considering such a thing! Gossip is the lowest form of murder!"

"That escalated quickly," quipped Hikaru, raising a sardonic eyebrow.

"Really, Haruhi," spoke Kyouya, finally looking up from his computer. She couldn't help but feel unnerved by the smile that was on his face. "What merit would we get from spreading rumors about our new students?"

~Ouran~

Two days, and Elliot hated Ouran even more. It was nothing like Lutwidge!

Well… Not really. Sure, people treated him the same, with gawking stares and whispered mutterings and walking-on-eggshells small talk. Just as before, the low level of trust people had for he and Leo was astounding. And these people didn't even have a reason! At least the kids at Lutwidge had rumors to go off of. These Ouran students couldn't possibly have ammunition for rumors yet.

"Maybe you just look scary," said Leo, walking slightly behind him, reading once more and conversing with his trademark distraction.

"I don't want to talk about it anymore, Leo." Elliot sighed, traversing the empty halls, trying to ignore the eerie feeling he got from hearing his own footsteps. He turned the map this way and that, trying to figure out where they were. "I just need to find a piano, and forget about today."

The page stopped turning, so Elliot guessed Leo looked up. "You're reading it wrong. Here, give it to me."

Elliot didn't even get the opportunity to respond before Leo snatched the map away and stared at it. The noire then looked around, pointed to a room, and then looked back at the paper. "The Music Rooms should be just around the next corner."

"See, I knew what I was doing…" Elliot stalked in that direction, gripping his violin case strap with white knuckles. He really, really, _really _needed a piano right now. His fingers itched to feel the polished ivory under his fingertips.

They rounded the corner, and spotted three signs marking three doors – two single doors, one pair of double doors. Music Rooms 1, 2, and 3.

Elliot tried the first door while Leo walked past him. "This one's locked."

The noire tried the second one. "This one, too; they must do things differently than Lutwidge."

"Obviously." Out of desperation, Elliot shoved open the double doors. A soft pink light blinded them as they did so.

Squinting, Elliot tried to see past the light and the floating rose petals. What the heck was this!? His eyes adjusted – or maybe the lights faded – and seated on a sofa across the room sat a group of seven individuals. Every one of them was adorned in all out The Hobbit/Lord of the Rings cosplay. The heights were all out of whack, though.

And who should sit between them all as King Thrandruil but Tamaki Suoh himself. His violet eyes lit up once he saw who had come through the doors.

The two guys cosplaying Kili and Fili stiffened. 'Kili' blurted, "Holy sewers, Fili, we've been ratted!"

"Quick! Emergency defenestration!" said 'Fili', and the two jumped at them. Elliot swung his violin case off his shoulder, ready to ward off dwarfish attackers.

"NO, HALT!"

The two screeched to a stop, glancing back at Tamaki. The 'elvin king' stood so fast, his cheesy elf ears almost fell off. He put on the face of perfect wood elf royalty. "What brings you to the woodland realm, strangers?"

Elliot glanced around, taking in the sight of a massive room decked out to the max in Mirkwood décor, and numerous girls in the Ouran girl's uniform sitting on sofas disguised as logs and stumps and toadstools. He scowled. "This isn't the woodland realm, you idiot, and you met us yesterday!"

"I have never seen your faces within my borders, human vagabonds."

Snarling, Elliot facepalmed before glaring at the teen. "YOU'RE HUMAN TOO, MORON!"

In a blink, Tamaki had retreated to a corner, plucking at fake mushrooms.

Elliot growled. Idiot. Then the guy dressed as Elrond (with glasses) approached and offered them a smile.

"Ignore him," he said in a baritone. "He has mood swings. Welcome to the Ouran Host Club."

"Oh, that thing he mentioned yesterday; something about blossoms and refreshments?" Leo quipped, and Kili and Fili started laughing while the brooding aura around Tamaki darkened.

"Yes, that." The 'Rivendell elf' cocked his head, still smiling in a way Elliot found unnerving. "I am Kyouya Ootori, 2nd year. The defenestrating imps are 1st years Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin."

"We're dwarves, you insolent elf!" the Hitachiin dressed as Kili spat, pointing a finger at Kyouya, who promptly ignored him.

"The two hobbits are 1st year Haruhi Fujioka and 3rd year Mitsukuni Haninozuka, better known here as Honey-senpai."

Honey waved enthusiastically, holding a plate of strawberry cake in one hand. Flowers seemed to float around his blond head, and his deer-like eyes were huge.

"I'm Bilbo Baggins!" said the boy in a very, very, _very _boyish voice.

…

That kid was a 3rd year?

Fujioka, on the other hand, gave a short, hesitant wave, staring owlishly at them. Obviously supposed to be Frodo, he had a feminine look about him that disturbed Elliot greatly.

"And this is 3rd year Takashi Morinozuka – Mori-senpai."

Dressed as Aragorn, Mori stood tall behind Honey – actually, he was the tallest of everyone in the room. He simply nodded with a 'hm' sound and a face like a stone statue.

"That was a very long, complicated introduction," Elliot deadpanned, muttering.

"Who's the prick?" asked 'Fili'. Elliot wasn't sure which was which, under all the cosplay, as Kyouya's introductory gesture to them had been vague.

Elliot scowled, but Leo nudged him, and then spoke. "I'm Leo, this is Elliot."

No one commented on the lack of surnames. Elliot then took the opportunity to glance around at them with a glare. "The sign says 'Music Room'."

"It is a music room," said Tamaki, standing up slowly, not enthusiastic but not pouting either. He seemed amazingly resilient for all the fuss he was making.

"No, it isn't. It's 'the woodland realm'."

'Kili' looked at 'Fili'. "I think he has some loose screws."

"Yeah, I coulda sworn he just said a couple paragraphs ago that it wasn't the woodland realm."

"Poor guy. Must be confused."

"SHUT UP!" Elliot growled, slinging his violin case back over his shoulder. "Are you all morons?"

"You have poor manners for a man of prestige," said Tamaki with indignation. "Your kind gives us of pure heart a bad name!"

Elliot frowned, staring at the guy incredulously. He really couldn't be serious. This was all a dumb act, a stupid game that they couldn't stop playing, like a role playing game or something. Yeah, that had to be it. Otherwise… this was disturbing. Actually, it was disturbing already. Unnerving.

"BOSS LOOK AT HIS FACE!" both Kili and Fili exclaimed in unison, pointing dramatically.

Before Elliot could react, Tamaki stared him in the face, invading his personal space enough to make him back away. He moved to backpedal, only to have Suoh's face light up like Christmas lights. The older boy grabbed his wrist, and spun him back into the room. "Behold, ladies and gentlemen! A sign! A divine brand of beauty!"

What the-!?

'Kili' and 'Fili' linked elbows with him, one on either side, and one jabbed a finger under his left eye as some of the girls came up. "Look right here!"

"Get off me, you freaks!" Elliot jerked in their hold, but they seemed surprisingly firm with their grip. "What do you think you're doing!?"

The girls oohed and ahhed and muttered to themselves.

_"Look at that!"_

_"A beauty mark!"_

_"He is quite good-looking."_

_"A shame it's spoiled by that sour expression…"_

_"I think it suits him. He looks like a fierce warrior!"_

This was getting really weird. Elliot regretted opening that door, and all he wanted right now was to go home. Too much social interaction did that to certain people, him being one of them. He glanced over his shoulder at Leo, who stood by the door with a blank look. "Leo! Get me outta this!"

The valet just shrugged.

"I'll tell you what, my good man," said Tamaki, stepping up to him as the twosome held him in one spot. "I shall give you the chance to redeem yourself of your crude behavior."

Elliot scowled. "Over my dead body." With that, he threw himself to the side, throwing the two off balance; their grip loosened. He jerked back, thrusting his elbow into 'Fili's gut and shoving him away. The dwarf staggered and knocked into an elvish-looking statue.

For one heart-pounding moment, the thing wobbled.

Then it fell and with a sickening crack, crumbled on the tile floor.

Elliot swore.

* * *

_*The French Victorian Era_

_**Elizabethan France_

**A/N: Reviews are love. ^_^**


	2. Chapter 2

For the longest moment of his life, Elliot heard nothing but silence. Dust wafted up from the broken statue, taunting him. Kili bounded to the fallen Fili's side with such sickening concern, Elliot normally would have been disturbed. But at the moment, he had something more important to worry about.

Then a sound like a sword exiting the sheath resounded through the room, and he flinched. What the heck?

"That statue was a prop from Rivendel during actual shooting of The Fellowship of the Ring, bought and specially shipped in from Peter Jackson himself," came Kyouya's voice from behind him. "It cost us $250,000 US dollars. Over 2 million yen."

HO SHOOT.

"Oh brother, here we go…" someone muttered.

"This seems awful familiar," said 'Kili'.

"Three, two, one…" Fili counted down, before Tamaki sprung in front of him, jabbing a finger between Elliot's eyes.

"DOG!" the blond screeched.

Kyouya cleared his throat. "Errand boy."

"Whatever," Tamaki continued, posing with flair.

"Errand boy!? What the heck are you blabbering about?" Elliot fumed, planting his feet and standing his ground.

"From here on out, pretty boy, you will be working for this host club, until your debt is paid." Tamaki jabbed his finger closer to his face. "We _own_ you until further notice!"

"No way!" Elliot, clenching his fists, glared at the taller boy. Who was _he_ calling 'pretty boy', hm? "You can't do that!"

"Sure we can," said Kyouya. "Hitachiins, the case."

The violin case was ripped from Elliot's shoulder, jerking him backward and sending him staggering. After regaining his balance, the blond growled. "My family can pay off that stupid statue, easy!"

"The debt is yours, not your family's." Kyouya sounded too casual. Whirling around, Elliot's eyes widened at the sight of his violin case in the older boy's hands. Kyouya, expression neutral, snapped the clasps and pulled the case open. "Hmm, interesting… We prefer our debtors to pay their dues personally. It's only fair, wouldn't you say? For instance, you could repay the statue with this."

"OOH LOOK A SWORD!" the Hitachiins blurted, and snatched the black rapier out of the case and dashed off with it.

Elliot sucked in a breath, and barely contained himself from darting after them. "Put that back! It's a priceless family heirloom!"

"Everything has a price, Nightray." Kyouya's cold voice sent chills down Elliot's spine. "Like that statue. I'm sure this heirloom would bring in at least a portion of what you owe."

"No, you can't do that! You have no right!" Elliot bit back some more nasty words and instead screamed inwardly. These people! Who did they think they were?

"You ruined our statue," Kyouya deadpanned, as if that were the answer to it all.

Everything got very quiet, then. The girls held their breath. The Hitachiin brothers paused in their tug-o-war of the antique sword. Tamaki stared at the stand-off between the two.

Slowly, Elliot's shoulders sagged, and his fists relaxed. He heaved a heavy sigh, closing his eyes in defeat.

This sucked.

Big time.

Seriously.

"Fine. Now give me my sword back."

"Hikaru, Kaoru," said Kyouya, smiling again. Jerk.

In a blink, the brothers stood before him and shoved the sword back into his hands. "Here you go, slave!" they chimed in unison, and then pranced off.

Jerks. All of 'em.

"My first order as the Host King is for you to clean the mess you created!" declared Tamaki, splaying a hand toward the crumbled statue. "With your bare hands!"

Elliot frowned, and ground his jaw. "That'd ridiculous, idiot! I can't clean up dust with my bare hands!"

"I can add to your debt if you don't cooperate," Kyouya added offhandedly as he crossed the room to the girls awaiting him.

Elliot deflated, sweatdropping. "…" He stalked toward the statue, grumbling, fists clenched once more. He knelt beside the statue, and tried not to scream profanities when the twins threw the trash bag over his head.

* * *

Kyouya strode over to the bespectacled boy that still stood frozen by the doors. He scribbled in his notebook, closed it, and then looked to the underclassman. "You may go if you wish. Nothing is keeping you here."

Leo Baskerville – Kyouya made it his job to know the name of every student (and faculty) in the school – blinked like an owl, staring up at him for the longest time. Even though he couldn't see the younger student's eyes, Kyouya could almost see the gears turning in his head. This was an intelligent one. How refreshing.

"I'm staying." Leo glanced at his master. "Just as long as he is."

After a brief pause, Kyouya nodded, and scribbled some more in his book.

_Leo Baskerville – voluntary co-debtor to Elliot Nightray._

Some people were so interesting.

* * *

Elliot sat on his knees, staring at the dust scattered over the pink tile floor, cursing this stupid club and wondering how the heck they expected him to pick this up with his bare hands. Maybe he should just leave it there to irritate them; they couldn't force him to do the impossible, no matter what they said. But then, if he was ornery, that Kyouya would add to his debt? Yeah, right; he couldn't do that. On what grounds?

Then again, he was dealing with some of the richest kids in Tokyo. He sighed, closing his eyes to ward off a gnawing headache. When he opened them again, someone stood in front of him.

It was Fujioka. He had a broom and dustpan in his small hands, which he offered to Elliot. "Here. These aught to help."

Brow furrowing, Elliot slowly took the broom, and reached for the dustpan, but Fujioka knelt and set it against the ground casually.

"Go ahead and just sweep it in."

But Elliot didn't stand. He looked Fujioka over head to toe, squinted, and then whispered. "You're a girl."

Fujioka's brown eyes widened, and glanced over Elliot's shoulder. Of course, Elliot could only think of two reasons why a girl would pretend to be a guy in this stupid club. The first reason disturbed him, and the second one actually relieved him – the second one was that maybe the poor kid had the same thing happen to her as what happened to him, and these jerks were blackmailing her into staying.

That, now that he thought about it, seemed more likely.

"Shh," she hissed, putting a finger to her lips, and then pointing at the dust. Huffing, Elliot stood and swept the dust into a pile, and into the dustpan.

Heels clacked on tile, and approached Elliot from behind. He glanced over his shoulder, and his gaze met that of a mousy girl in pigtails.

"Um… Elliot…" She fidgeted, wringing her hands.

"What?" he asked gruffly, eager to have her go away.

"Are… Are you really with French Intelligence?"

_Say wut?_


End file.
